The use of personal outdoor vehicles, for example, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, and personal watercraft, has grown in popularity as these vehicles have become faster, more responsive, more reliable, and more versatile. Because of the increased speed, reliability, and responsiveness of these vehicles, the rider must have control of the vehicle at all times, particularly at high rates of speed and when the rider is attempting to make tight turns or travel over uneven or sloped terrain. Maneuvering of these vehicles requires the rider to exert substantial force on the ends of the handlebars. For example, a snowmobile rider "bending" the snowmobile in deep powder may shift all of his/her weight to the inside of the turn and pull with both arms on the handlebar grips. In another example, a snowmobile rider turning left in deep powdery snow pulls on the left handlebar grip toward his chest and pushes on the right handlebar grip. The rider primarily pulls instead of pushes because of the risk of the rider's hand slipping off of the right handlebar grip because there is no stop on the end of the handlebar grip. The use of primarily only one arm during these high force turns causes considerable rider fatigue.
The increased speed and ever increasing numbers of personal vehicles in use is generating a need for greater visibility of these vehicles at farther distances away. In addition, these vehicles are commonly ridden at night because of their reliability.
Handlebar grips for helping the rider maintain a grip on the handlebar are well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,519 shows a handlebar grip having a covering of flexible needles on a cylindrical tubular handgrip body which is slid over the free end of a handlebar and held in place by a stopper and screw anchor which engages the inside of the handlebar. U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,202 describes a motorcycle handlebar safety grip which fits axially onto a handlebar and has an elongated, hollow, main grip body with a stopper on the far end of the grip. U.S. Design Pat. Nos. 323,280 and 314,700 both show hollow handlebar grips which fit over a handlebar.
Devices for improving bicycle safety are also well-known. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,623,954, 4,656,564, 4,716,502, 4,875,142 and 5,247,431 show lights designed to fit into the hollow ends of the bicycle handlebars.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,169 shows a running light assembly integrated with the end of a motorcycle handlebar and hand grip. The assembly includes a tubular grip sized to fit over a tubular end portion of the motor cycle handlebar and a light bulb carried within the handlebar.
Handlebar devices which extend beyond the end of the handlebar and project generally perpendicular to the handlebar have been used to allow riders a better surface to pull against (see U.S. Pat. No. Des. 376,124).
Despite the usefulness of each of these devices for their intended purposes, there is a need for a handlebar device for use on outdoor personal vehicles which improves riding performance and vehicle safety.